Whenever I need Illinois Rule Supreme Court Rule 304, which is titled "Appeals from Final Judgments That Do Not Dispose of an Entire Proceeding," I can't seem to find it. So I'm bookmarking it here in this weblog, which will keep it from getting lost.
The need for the rule usually arises like this: the court issues an order ruling for or against a particular party or claim, taking it out of the case entirely, but not disposing of the entire case because other parties or claims remain. Can an appeal be taken? Generally, no, since the court's order does not constitute a final judgment. Rule 304 allows the court to make its order appealable by entering "an express written finding that there is no just reason for delaying either enforcement or appeal or both."
Rule 304 should be distinguished from Rule 308, titled "Interlocutory Appeals by Permission," which is an entirely different creature.
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